As has more or less been the usual routine, Ayla woke us up at about 6:45 this morning. We fed her and then took her for a walk at around 8 and our friends were awake by then also since the auto repair guy was supposed to come at 9 am. Since they have a small market at the campground also, we picked up some fresh paninis for breakfast with prosciutto and pecorino (sheep’s cheese) on them. Still warm and quite tasty, they really hit the spot for breakfast.
It was quite cold and foggy this morning and we were anticipating that it would be another average day in Italy since we haven’t had the greatest weather thus far. Hubby and I went to shower and it was overcast and pretty cold when we went in…but when we came out of the bathrooms, we found the sun was out and it was warming up very quickly.
At 11 am, the auto repair guy finally showed up. Thankfully he also had his wife with him who spoke some English or our friends might have had a serious problem communicating with them lol. They said they thought the problem was relatively simple but since the garage would be closing for lunch or whatever it is they call it, we should bring the van by around 2 pm when they opened up again.
So we had a few hours to kill before we could go anywhere and tried to do some research about where we could go for the day. We had also learned that hubby needed to return to work because some major meeting had been scheduled and they were insisting that everyone come in for it, whether they were on vacation or on the moon. So this would essentially be our last day of vacation since we’d need about 12 hours to drive the almost 1000 km between us and home.
We located a place which was in a neighboring town about 10 minutes away and it seemed to offer everything we were looking for. They had a range of local goods, including olive oil, cheeses, salami and other various things which we hoped we could take home with us and/or cook with that evening.
Close to 2 pm, we set out for the auto garage and after a little difficulty locating it, delivered the VW to them. They seemed unsure where the problem was something small or large at that point and our friend became rather concerned that he may not be getting his van back that day. It also started to sound like a very expensive repair. Eventually they arrived at the lower costing solution and we set out on our quest for olive oil and Chianti while the VW was being repaired.
As things often go on vacations, the farmer’s cooperative which we were hoping to find was no longer in business. We had gotten the location from a tourism guide but apparently it was rather out of date because the building which was to house this store was under massive reconstruction and there was nothing even resembling a coop in the area. Once again, we’d managed to venture out when everything was closed for the afternoon and we were all getting rather hungry. But since we were in some less touristic areas, our choices were slim to none when it came to food.
Back in the Defender, we decided to look up the nearest vineyard in the TomTom and see if we could at least fulfill our Chianti quest. But apparently it was not meant to be an easy task. It took us about 4 hours to finally locate a vineyard actually selling anything (everything in our TomTom led us to nowhere) but we were at least pleased with the wine we found and each purchased a few bottles.
By now it was around 5 pm and we still hadn’t found anything to eat. Thankful that Ayla no longer needed lunch breaks, we pressed on in search of food. We came across a few little pizzerias but nothing with much parking and with the Defender, it was a bit of an issue. So we just kept on driving. Hubby and I seemed relatively un-phased by the lack of food and weren’t really prepared to just settle for anything…but our friends were starting to look a bit distraught over the lack of nourishment. Unfortunately, there was little to be done since there were few places to eat and even fewer of them open.
We started to think that the VW should soon be finished but our friend insisted they’d told him it would be 5-6 hours which meant 8-9 pm. We were rather shocked that the garage would stay open that late but Italians do seem to have a slightly different perception of time so we thought it could be possible.
As we tried to find our way back to the campgrounds (and hoping we would find someplace to eat along the way), we realized we were actually on the outskirts of Florence…and naturally in the middle of rush hour traffic. Thankfully, rush hour in Florence does not equal a complete standstill on the streets…but it does involve a lot of mopeds and some of the wildest driving we’ve seen in a long time. I think I adapted really well to the chaos and despite being one of the biggest cars on the road, I had no problem avoiding the various complications which were constantly being thrown at you such as cars pulling out of parking spaces.
As we started to leave Florence, we ended up on a somewhat narrow road leading up into the mountains. We had some pretty close calls there and everyone in the truck was commenting that I really did know my truck well as there was only one occasion when scuffed my wheels which was when a bus decided to take his half out of the middle. That road turned out to be relatively gorgeous and I think all of us were able to forget for at least a little while that we were still hungry.
As we got closer to the campground, there were fewer and fewer places to eat and since it was about 7 pm, we convinced our friend that he should at least check on his van since we were here already and it they happened to close before he got it, he would really have a problem in the morning. Thankfully, it was finished when we got there and they were getting ready to close. There had been a language problem and when they’d told him 5 or 6 hours, they’d meant to say 5-6 o’clock. Oopsie lol.
Back at the campground, we just decided we would give their restaurant there a try. We were all starving and tired and since hubby and I had a long day of driving ahead of us, we were willing to risk it just being so, so. Once again we were shocked to find that the meal was delicious and they actually had a full kitchen with 2 cooks on staff. Apparently no matter where you go in Tuscany, you are going to find good food. 😉
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